Returning
by 59katie
Summary: Takes place shortly after Walker and Alex return from their honeymoon. The new receptionist takes a liking to Walker. Alex goes out of town for an assignment.


Returning by Katie 59

Chapter One

Walker entered Ranger headquarters to find Trivette sitting at his desk while flirting with a woman. After getting a cup of coffee Walker went over to his desk and placed his cup of coffee down on it causing Trivette to get up from Walker's desk. The woman then asked " James who is this? And why is he acting like this is his desk?" Trivette quickly answered " This is my partner Cordell Walker and this is his desk. Walker this is Delphinia Mannon. She's the new receptionist."

" Nice to meet you Miss Mannon." Walker replied as he took his seat. Mannon said to Walker " Since we're going to be working so closely together how about you call me Del and I'll call you Cord. How does that sound to you? James here calls me Del."

Trivette interjected " My partner prefers to be called by his last name Walker. Now since Walker has been gone the last couple of weeks I have to catch him up on things. We can talk later Del." Mannon took the hint and replied " Okay James. See you around Ranger Walker." After she went over to her own desk Trivette questioned his partner " So Walker how much of Paris did you and Alex actually see? And did you take any pictures of the sights? Because if you did I wouldn't mind seeing them."

Walker answered " Trivette if you must know Alex is going to have the pictures developed later on today. Now what did I miss while I was gone?" One of the other Rangers spoke up to say " You owe me twenty bucks Trivette. I told you that they wouldn't spend the entire honeymoon in the hotel room. I doubt if they did anything in it other than sleeping. You know the kind that involves snoring." Getting to his feet Walker glared at the other Ranger who quickly decided that he had something really important to do elsewhere and hurriedly left Ranger headquarters. Walker then glared at Trivette who backed up a little before saying " Don't kill me man. He was running his mouth about you and Alex having to get married because she was pregnant and that you wouldn't spend anytime in your hotel room because of that. So to shut him up I told him that it wasn't so but he kept running his mouth that it was so I bet him twenty bucks that you and Alex wouldn't leave your hotel room at all."

Walker changed the subject " Just tell me what I've missed Trivette." Trivette nodded okay and went to his own desk picked some folders back and returned to his partner's desk. Opening the first one Walker said " Trivette I'm telling you right now. What happens between my wife and I stays between us. If you can't understand that you can find yourself a new partner."

" Walker I know that and I wasn't prying into your private life. It was just a stupid bet. Now about the Bolger case I was able to track down some of the stolen cars to a dealer over in Fort Worth but I wanted to wait to make an arrest until you got back so that we can bust the entire operation. We just need to catch the car jackers stealing a car and follow it to the car dealer." Trivette informed Walker who replied " Okay let's go."

A few hours later Alex entered Ranger headquarters and asked the receptionist " Is Walker here?" She replied " No he isn't. Now if you don't mind I'm rather busy." Alex told her " When Walker gets back will you tell him that I need him to stop by my office as soon as he can?"

" I would if I knew who you were and what office you were talking about. Who are you anyhow?" Mannon said to Alex who held out her hand as she answered " My name is A.D.A. Alex Cahill-Walker and I'm Ranger Walker's wife. And you are?"

" My name is Delphinia Mannon and as you can see I'm the receptionist for the Texas Rangers Company B. Miss Cahill." Delphinia replied while ignoring Alex's outstretched hand. Alex withdrew her hand and was leaving Ranger headquarters when Sydney and Gage entered it. Sydney said " Alex can we go to your office? There's something that I want to talk with you about. Gage can handle the paperwork."

" Sure can shortie. You and Alex go ahead now. I know how you are when it comes to girl talk." Gage replied causing Alex to glare at him before leaving Ranger headquarters with Sydney. After they left Mannon asked him " Ranger Gage how can a man like Ranger Walker be married to a stuck-up like that A.D.A.? I mean they are married but she told me that her name was Miss Cahill. She should be using his name now. And another thing she acted like she was too good to talk to me. Like I was just a servant or something."

" That doesn't sound like Alex at all. Maybe you misunderstood her or something like that." Gage hinted to Mannon who realizing that Gage was a friend of Alex's backtracked " Maybe you're right about me misunderstanding Miss Cahill. I'm new here and I don't want to cause any trouble. It was probably just my imagination. Yeah that's what it was."

At Alex's office Sydney questioned her " So Alex how was the honeymoon? Did you get to see any of Paris besides the hotel room? Did you take any pictures outside of it?" Alex told her " Sydney Walker values his privacy so all I will tell you is that Paris was great. That's all I'm ever going to tell you or anyone else about my honeymoon. And yes I took some pictures of the sights in Paris. You can look at them someday if you want to." Sydney nodded okay and changed the subject to her testimony in an upcoming trial.

After Walker and Trivette arrived back at Ranger headqurters and sat at their desks Miss Mannon hurried over to Walker's to tell him " Ranger Walker A.D.A. Cahill stopped by while you were out and said that she wanted you to meet her at her office." Walker got up from his desk and was leaving Ranger headquarters when Mannon asked Trivette " James why is A.D.A. Cahill still using her maiden name when she's married to a man like him?" Before answering Trivette looked at Walker who kept on walking away. After Walker was gone he replied " Del all I know is that whatever happens between Walker and Alex is their business. Not mine or anyone else's. A word of advice, if I were you I wouldn't nose into their private life."

Del ran her hand along Trivette's shoulder as she purred at him " Oh I will stay out of their private life James. Just as long as I have a man like you to distract me." Trivette sat up straighter and told her " You can distract me too Del. Any time you want to."

Walker knocked on the door to Alex's private office then entered it without waiting for an answer. Alex looked up from a law book and seeing that it was her husband closed the book as she said " Walker I hate to tell you this but I have to go out of town to interview a witness for my next case." Walker went over and sat on the edge of his wife's desk to ask her " When do you have to go?"

" My plane leaves at ten tomorrow morning. I'm sorry Cordell but I really need to interview this witness as soon as possible. However we can still spend the rest of the day and tonight together. How does that sound to you? You know I was thinking that we can sit out on the porch and count fireflies or whatever else comes to our minds." Alex told Walker who pulled her up into his arms as he answered " Sounds good to me but whoever loses the firefly counting contest gets to do the dishes for the rest of the week after your return. Understand me lady?"

Alex laughed " I understand you dear and by the way on the way home I'm going to stop by the store and buy some extra large gloves for you so that you don't get dishpan hands while you're doing the dishes after I come back. I don't want my husband touching me with dishpan hands." Walker teased right back " I'll just stop at the store myself and get some in your size for when you lose." Before Alex could say anything to that Walker pulled her into a kiss. A few minutes later there was a knock on Alex's door and her secretary asked from the other side of the door " Miss Cahill can I come in now?"

Alex replied " Yes Rita you can come in now." Walker then said " I'll see you at home lady." After Walker left her office Rita told Alex " Miss Cahill there's a man from maintence in your outer office. He said something about having to redo your door. Should I have him talk to you first?"

" Send him in and Rita my name is now A.D.A. Cahill-Walker not Miss Cahill. Although I would prefer that you call me Alex." Alex suggested to her secretary who replied " Okay Alex. I'll send him in now." Rita left Alex's office and the maintence man entered it. Alex told him " I want the name on my door changed to Alex Cahill-Walker. You can leave the Assistant District Attorney alone though. Okay?"

" Sure thing A.D.A. Cahill-Walker. When do you want me to get started on that?" He asked Alex who told him " Right now would be good if you can. I'm done for the day." He agreed to do it right away so Alex went and told Rita that she could leave early also.

Chapter Two

Walker came home to find his wife in the kitchen humming while she cooked their dinner. After a few minutes of watching her he asked " Have I told you lately that you are very beautiful?" Alex kissed her husband on the cheek as she answered " Yes you have dear and I love hearing it from you. But right now if you want to you can set the table. Dinner will be done shortly." Walker went and set the table. After dinner had been eaten they went outside and sat on the porch swing together. As they were watching the sun set Walker questioned his wife " Alex why haven't you taken on my name? Didn't you tell me in Paris that you wanted to be known as A.D.A. Cahill-Walker? Did you change your mind?"

" No Walker I haven't changed my mind about being known as A.D.A. Cahill-Walker. As a matter of fact I had a maintence man come to my office after you left it to change the name on my door to Cahill-Walker. However when we're here at home I don't want to be called Cahill-Walker." Alex said to Walker who asked her " What do you want to be called when we're here at home?"

Alex replied " I want to be called Alex Walker among other things." Having an idea of what Alex was leading up to Walker started whispering into her ear " Would those other things include my wife? How about the lady who can make me want her like no other? Or better yet the best lover that I've ever had?"

Alex whispered into Walker's ear " How about we skip counting the fireflies and make love?" Walker pulled Alex even closer and began unbuttoning her blouse as he kissed her. Alex pulled away objecting " Walker we're on the front porch. How about we go into the house first?"

Walker picked Alex up and took her into the house and not wanting to wait until they got upstairs took his wife into the guest bedroom. When they were done Alex asked " Hey Cowboy how about we sleep in our own bed tonight?" Walker answered " Race you upstairs." Alex tossed a pillow at him and ran up the steps first. When Walker caught up to her in their bedroom Alex informed him " I won so that means you have to do what I say dear."

Walker laid down on the bed on his back as he said to her " I'll do whatever you want me to do lady. I'm all your's." Alex went over to the bed and sitting on the edge of it told her husband " I want you to lay there while I take the lead. Can you do that for me?" Walker pulled her onto him " Yes I can. Lead on."

Three days later Trivette and Walker were eating lunch in C.D.'s when Trivette grumbled " How come when you're interested in someone they're interested in someone else? Someone they don't have a chance at getting either by the way. Why are women like that?" Walker didn't say anything because he knew that Trivette was complaining about Delphinia Mannon who had dumped him but C.D. decided to ask " What are you talking about Jimmie?"

" Del that's what I'm talking about. I mean we went on two dates and they were great. Heck we were even together if you know what I mean. Then the next thing I know she tells me that she's interested in someone else. What did I do wrong?" Trivette complained somemore causing C.D. to tell him " Well Jimmie just be your own self and in time Miss Mannon will see that this other fellow isn't what she thinks he is. Sometimes women fool themselves into thinking a man they can't have is better than the one that they do have. What's this fellow's name by the way?"

Trivette looked at Walker as he replied " Walker, Texas Ranger. You know my partner. How do I compete against him C.D.? I mean he's a married man but she dumped me because of him." When Walker said nothing to that either C.D. responded " Jimmie maybe Miss Mannon just told you that she was interested in Walker when she's really interested in someone else but doesn't want you to know who he is. Who knows how a woman thinks when it comes to men. "

Trivette then said " Yeah maybe you're right C.D., it's not like Walker's ever been considered a real ladies' man unlike me." Walker entered the conversation " Trivette if you and C.D. are done talking about your private life I'd like to go back to headquarters and get our paperwork done sometime this year." Trivette mockingly said " Oh my God. Did I just hear my partner right? Did he just say that he wanted to hurry back to Ranger headquarters so that he could do paperwork? Quick C.D. take his temperature. Walker's coming down with something."

C.D. laughingly replied " Rumor has it that a certain beautiful blonde is returning home today." Trivette jumped up as he said " We'd better get going then. If I keep Walker from getting home on time Alex won't be happy and that's never a good thing; to have newlyweds mad at each other."

Walker glared at Trivette while C.D. turned away so that Walker wouldn't see the big grin on his face. A smirking Trivette then followed Walker out to his truck.

After they were in Walker's truck Trivette told him " Walker in all seriousness I think that you should know that Miss Mannon told me to my face that she wanted you and would do whatever it took to get you."

" I'm a married man Trivette." Walker answered his partner who informed him " That's what I told Del. I also told her that you would never be interested in her but she told me that she wanted you and that was all that matters to her. Not to change the subject but since I don't have a date tonight how about I fill out the paperwork for the both of us? You'll just have to sign it in the morning."

Walker quickly agreed and dropped Trivette off at Ranger headquarters and went home to the ranch where he found Alex laying on the couch. Kneeling on the floor besides the couch Walker ran his hand through Alex's hair until she woke up. Walker then pulled her into a kiss but Alex broke away from him causing Walker to ask her " Alex what's the matter?"

" It's not a good time for you to be doing that Walker. The timing's all wrong." Alex hinted to Walker who didn't get the hint and tried again to kiss her. Alex then held up her hand in a stop gesture as she told him " Walker we can't have sex right now. So please just stop. Will you?"

Still not understanding Walker questioned his wife " Did you hurt your back or something? Is there something wrong with you that you're not telling me about?" Alex sighed then enlightened her husband " No I don't have anything wrong with me other than my monthly. And let's change the subject, shall we? Since you're here I might as well get started on dinner. What do you want to eat tonight?"

Walker answered " How about we go to C.D.'s for dinner? That way you don't have to cook anything on your first night back home." Alex replied " Sounds good to me but let me go freshen up first." Walker nodded okay and Alex went and freshened up. At C.D.'s they were eating their dinner when Trivette came in and spotting them questioned " What are the two of you doing here? Didn't you just get back from being away Alex? Don't you know that you should be home with your husband?"

" Yes Trivette I did just get back home from being away. My husband wanted us to eat here so that I didn't have to cook tonight. Do you have any more questions for me?" Alex responded. Trivette shook his head no and headed over to the bar. A while later Alex put some money into the jukebox and insisted that Walker dance with her. As they were slow dancing while wrapped in each other's arms Walker asked her " Alex I thought that you didn't believe in having sex during your monthly?"

Alex pulled back a little before answering " I don't. Why would you think otherwise?" Walker turned a little red and cleared his throat several times. Alex then pulled back further and looked down his body to discover the effect the slow dancing had had on him. She told her husband " I'm sorry but I swear that I wasn't trying to lead you on. I just wanted to dance with my husband. Forgive me?" Walker pulled her back into his arms and whispered " It's okay Alex. When we get home I'll just take a cold shower."

" Walker I promise you that just as soon as my monthly is over with I will make it up to you." Alex promised Walker but he replied " Alex you don't have to make anything up to me. I will never insist that you be with me when you don't want to be. You have my word on that."

" Okay, fine then. I want to make love with you just as soon as my monthly is over with. Would you mind us doing that?" Alex said to Walker who kissed her soundly then told her " You got it lady."

Walker was at the bar waiting for Alex to come out of the ladies's room when Mannon came into the bar and said to him " There you are Cordell. How about we go back to my place? Your wife is out of town and I'm here and ready. What do you say?" Walker ignored her but Alex who had returned from the ladies' room snapped " He is not interested, nor will he ever be interested. Find someone else."

Walker took Alex's arm and they left C.D.'s but Mannon said to their backs " I want him and you're not going to stop me from getting him, wedding ring or not. I always get what I want."

Chapter Three

Walker and Trivette were called into Captain Harland's office and were told to take a seat which they did. Captain Harland then said to them " Rangers Walker and Trivette the governor has volunteered the two of you for an undercover assignment out of state. Now since it's out of state the two of you have the right to refuse the assigment. What's your answer?" Walker answered for them " We'll take it."

Trivette objected " Wait a minute Walker. We don't know where we'll be at or what we'll be doing. Captain Harland where is the assignment at? And more importantly what are we going to be doing there?"

Harland replied " The assignment is in Enid Oklahoma where five county jail guards have died recently. These guards have all died in different ways involving cars but which appeared to be accidental and nobody thought much of the deaths until someone sent a message to the media claiming responsibilty for the deaths. Needless to say more in depth autopsies than the ones that were originaly done found that these men were murdered. The two of you will both be guards at the county jail. Trivette you will have to change your looks slighty to avoid the possibilty of someone making you. Walker since you made the headlines with what happened to you on your way to Paris you are going to have to change your appearance a lot."

Walker said " I can shave my beard." Harland suggested " You should also dye your hair and get some contacts lenses so that your eyes will be a different color. When the two of you get to Enid you'll be briefed by Crawforde the head guard at the county jail who will then give you fake I.D.'s. He'll to be in charge of the operation. Any questions?"

Trivette asked " Just one, when do we leave?" Harland answered " Tomorrow, Walker is going to need tonight to get his hair dyed and get the contacts. Also Walker maybe you should also change the way you dress."

After they left Harland's office Trivette asked " Walker why did you agree to take on this assigment? I mean you're a newlywed after all." Walker questioned " What's that got to do with anything?"

" Nothing. I guess. So Walker do you even know how to dye your hair? Or is Alex going to have to do that for you? Another thing will your wife even know that you're you without your beard? Also is she going to be in charge of changing the way that you dress?" Trivette teasingly asked his partner who instead of answering that said " Why don't you go over to your desk and do your paperwork Trivette?" Trivette took the hint.

As they were leaving Ranger headquarters they ran into Alex who was waiting for the elevator and before Walker could tell her anything Trivette told her " Hey Alex your husband and I are leaving town on assignment real soon. Tomorrow as a matter of fact."

" Okay." Alex answered. Trivette then questioned her " Aren't you the least bit curious about where we'll be and what we'll be doing? Doesn't it bother you that your husband will be leaving town so soon after the two of you returning from your honeymoon? You know just like you just did?"

Alex shook her head no as Walker glared at Trivette. The elevator arrived so Walker and Alex got on it but Trivette stepped back as he said " I think that I'll take the next one. You and my partner need to talk to each other." On the elevator Alex told her husband " Can we talk about it at home?"

" Yes. Alex would you mind stopping at the store on the way home and picking up some hair dye for me?" Walker asked Alex who replied " What shade? They have a lot of different shades for men nowadays. You want anything in particular?" Walker answered " Whatever one you think is best. I also need some razors and contact lenses in a different eye color." Alex nodded in agreement as other people got on the elevator.

At home Alex pulled out the stuff she had gotten for Walker while telling him " I got you contact lenses that will make your eyes appear brown. As for the hair dye I always thought you would look good with lighter hair so I got something to change your hair color to that of a blonde with a hint of red highlights. When do you want me to dye your hair?" Taking the stuff he answered " How about now? While you're doing that I'll tell you about my assignment."

Alex nodded okay and led her husband into the kitchen where she sat him on a chair and proceeded to dye his hair while Walker told her about the assignment. When Alex was done dying his hair she told him " Okay it's done. Do you want me to write you down some tips on how to make the dye job last longer?" Walker shook his head no so Alex then told him " After I clean up the kitchen I'll get started on dinner. Okay?"

" How about I throw some steaks on the grill while you make a salad?" Walker suggested to his wife who agreed to the suggestion. As they were eating their dinner Alex asked him " When are you going to shave your beard and start wearing your contacts?"

" I'll shave tonight and put in the contacts in the morning. Alex Harland suggested that I changed the way that I dress too. Could you...?" Walker asked Alex who quickly agreed " I have several ideas about the way you can dress to change your appearance. Now would you be interested in dressing like a man who dresses nicely, a working class man or a playboy? Although if I were you I would choose a nice dresser to go along with the way that your hair makes you look. If you want me to I can pick out several outfits for you."

" If that involves you taking me to the mall the answer is no." Walker answered Alex who laughed and said " No my darling cowboy I know better that to suggest that we go shopping together. You already have the clothes that I was thinking about. You just need to put them together the right way. I'll show you what I mean later." Walker nodded okay.

Later on in their bedroom Alex laid several outfits on the bed as she said " Walker if you wear these clothes the way that I have them together you will look like a completely different man." Looking at the clothes Walker asked her " Alex how long have you thought that I should dress differently?"

" I don't think that you should dress any different than you do now dear but you said that Harland suggested that you change the way that you look and these clothes will help with that. I'm just trying to help you with your cover. Dress anyway that you want to. It doesn't matter to me what you wear just so long as I get to take your clothes off of you from time to time." Alex replied. Walker nodded okay then took the clothes and put them in a suitcase and went into the bathroom where he shaved off his beard. When Walker came back into the bedroom Alex looked at him for several minutes then asked him " Are going to grow your beard back?"

" I was planning to. Why do you think that I shouldn't grow it back?" Walker questioned back causing Alex to run her hand over his lower face and say " You bet I want you to grow it back. The man that I married had a beard and it's going to stay that way. Got that Cordell?"

Walker teased " Yes Alexandra I've got that." Alex kissed him then said " I love you too." Then changing the subject she informed him " Walker I want you to wrap this assignment up as soon as you can because I need... well I want..., no I really have to make love with you just as soon you return from it. I wish we could make love tonight but we can't."

Walker answered " I promise that I'll wrap it up quickly." The next morning as they were getting ready to leave the ranch house Alex questioned her husband " Walker don't you think it would be better if you rode into town with me and leave your truck here? Also are you going to Ranger headquarters before you leave town?" Walker answered " I was planning on picking Trivette up at C.D.'s and going to the airport from there. Trivette said that he would be ready to leave from there. Any other questions?"

" Yes as a matter of fact I do have one. Don't you think that if you take your truck to the airport someone might recognize you? Why don't you let me drive the two of you to the airport just to be on the safe side?" Alex asked Walker who replied " Alex that was two questions not one but if you really want to you can drop Trivette and I off at the airport, okay?"  
" Yes dear." Alex said as she got into her car and sat behind the wheel. Walker stood there looking at her so she told him " My car so I'm driving. You can sit in the passenger seat." After putting his suitcase in the trunk Walker got into the passenger seat.

After they parked in back of C.D.'s and got out of the car Alex looked her husband over and teased him " You know that look you got going really makes me wonder if I should let you out of my sight."

" Alex what do you mean by that?" Walker asked not realizing that Alex had wanted him to ask her exactly that. Wrapping her arm's around Walker's neck Alex replied " What I mean is that my very handsome husband is going to be in another state and won't have me there to fight off the women who are going to try and paw him. That's all."

" Alex have you looked at me lately? You are about the only woman that I know who wants me. You act like you think I'm good looking or something." Walker answered back. Alex instead of talking anymore kissed Walker. After the kiss was over with Alex said " I think that you are very good looking dear but for right now we'd better go into C.D.'s before I forget where we're at. But I'm warning you ahead of time when you get back you had better have some energy left for me."

Walker pulled his wife close and whispered into her ear " You bet I will lady. All night long as a matter of fact. Think you can handle it?" Alex kissed him again and said " I can handle anything that you can give me dear and you should know that by now."

Trivette entered C.D.'s with his suitcase and seeing Alex sitting at the bar asked her " Hey where's my partner at?" Alex replied as she held out her car keys " In the back room fixing something for C.D. Walker said that he would be ready to leave just as soon as he was done with it. Trivette I'm going to drive the two of you to the airport so if you want to you can throw your suitcase in the trunk of my car." Trivette took the car keys and went outside.

Walker and Alex went outside to where her car was and Trivette looked Walker over from head to foot then teased him " Man Walker if you weren't with this beautiful lady that I know is your wife I never would have recognized you. Where did you get those nice looking clothes from? Can you write down the name of the store for me? If they make you look this good I can't wait to see what they'll do for me."

When Walker didn't answer Alex laughingly did " They were clothes that he already had Jimmie and the clothes don't make the man the man makes the clothes. In this case that is all so true." Trivette said as he got into the back seat " I'm not so sure about that but they do say that love is blind."

At the airport Trivette got of the car saying " I'll just get my suitcase and go get our tickets while you and Alex say your goodbyes. Don't take too long because we have to check in with Crawforde sometime today." After getting his suitcase Trivette walked away as Alex turned to Walker and said " I know how you are about kissing in public but I can have just one small kiss before you leave?" Walker pulled his wife close and kissed her until she was unable to think straight then he asked " That okay?"

" It is for now. See you when you get back." Alex replied then got into her car and drove away. Walker went to the airplane counter where Trivette was getting their tickets. Trivette said " We can get seats on the next flight if you're ready to leave now." Walker answered " I'm ready. Just waiting on you."

At their meeting with Crawforde they received their fake I.D.'s and were told to report to the county jail the first thing in the morning. Crawforde then told them that he had booked them at a nearby motel and that they should take the rest of the day and read over the reports that he had prepared for them.

After reading the reports Trivette said " I'm going to go find something good to eat. Do you want to come with me?" Walker replied " Just bring me back a burger." Trivette nodded okay and headed for the door as he said " Tell Alex hi for me."

Walker called Alex's office but was told that she was at Ranger headquarters so he called there looking for her but Del who answered the phone told him " No she isn't here but I think that you should know that I saw her cheating on you earlier today." Walker asked " Is that so?"

" Yes, she was all over this very good looking well dressed man with brown eyes and blonde hair that had just a hint of red in it. I'm sorry but I really thought you should know. I also want you to know that I'll be there for you if you ever need me for anything." Del told Walker who said " I won't, just tell Alex that I called."

" I will Ranger." Del replied as Alex and Sydney neared her desk causing Sydney to ask her " What Ranger was that?" Del said " A Ranger that I knew when I worked in the Houston office. Was there something that you needed Ranger Cooke?"

" I'm leaving for the day. If Gage calls in later tell him that I'll be at Alex's and that he's to pick me up since he totaled my car earlier today." Sydney answered Del who nodded okay. Alex and Syd then left Ranger headquarters and headed for the ranch. On the way there Syd remarked " Alex I can't believe that Walker is going to let you drive his truck while we pick up my horse from the stable where she's at."

" Walker's let me drive it before. Syd after we get your horse settled in do you have some time to visit with me? I got the pictures back from Paris if you want to see them." Alex said to Sydney who replied " You bet I want to see the pictures of Paris, I hear it's the most romantic place in the world." Alex got a dreamy look in her eyes as she said " Oh you'd better believe that it is."

When Sydney had trouble biting back her laughter Alex glared at her causing Sydney to laughingly say " Oh come on Alex you should hear how you just sounded. And the look on your face tells me that you really enjoyed Paris. However since Walker is most likely going to be my boss one day and you're a friend of mine I think that I'd better change the subject right now. I can't thank you enough for letting me bring my horse to your ranch and keeping her there. If there is anyway that I can ever repay you for it please let me know."

" I was happy to Sydney and you don't need to repay me for it. Walker and I are glad to help you out." Alex answered.

Chapter Four

Two weeks later Walker and Trivette returned to the hotel room that they were sharing and started going over the information that they had gathered on the case. Trivette said to Walker " I cross-referenced everything that I could think of and the only thing that stood out was the fact that each and every one of the guards who died had to pull a sixteen hour shift the night before they died. But what is puzzling is that there were different reasons each time a guard had to work an extra shift. For instance in Paulsen's death he had to stay over to cover for a guard who's wife was giving birth and in Klune's case he needed the overtime and filled in when they were short staffed. Now Paulsen who was the first to die was in a head-on car wreck in which he and the people in the other car were killed. The official cause of the car wreck was that Paulsen had fallen asleep at the wheel. In Klune's case he was struck and killed by a car who's driver insisted that he had just walked right in front of his car and the witnesses at the scene confirmed that account. Here look over these other causes of deaths for the guards, none of them are the exactly same except for the fact that they all died on their way home from work and involved cars, either their's or other's. If there is a serial killer how is he able to kill those men in seemingly different manners that still involved cars? And why on their way home after pulling double shifts?"

Walker took the reports and after reading them answered " It doesn't make any more sense to me either Trivette but did you notice that the guard that Paulsen was filling in for was the next guard to die? The same thing with Klune too."

Trivette took the reports back from Walker scanned them then said " You're right. So if it holds true we'd better find a way to trail Welsch because Billups filled in for him and Billups was the last guard to die."

Walker got up and told Trivette " I'll trail him home from the jail tomorrow morning after he pulls his double shift. While you're at work tomorrow morning I want you to be on the lookout for anything odd." Trivette replied " I will but I doubt if whoever is doing this would tip his hand by gloating about Welsch's death, as it were."

Walker was trailing Welsch home from work when he noticed that Welsch was starting to drift off of the rural road he was driving on that trailed along a stream. Walker quickly speeded up and tried to put his rented truck in front of Welsch's while blowing his horn but Welsch was slummed over the wheel so Walker forced Welsh's car into a ditch was caused the car to get stuck in the loose gravel. Walker quickly got out of his truck and dragged Welsch out of his car and placed him into the truck. Walker then drove Welsch's car back onto the road and headed it towards the stream. After jumping out of the moving car Walker got into his truck and headed back to town.

At work Trivette was taking his lunch in a break room when Crawforde's nephew Bobby who was also a guard came into the break room and said to him " Hey did you hear about Welsch?" Trivette asked " No I didn't. What happened to Welsch?"

Bobby smirkingly answered " He died on the way home from his shift. It seems that he fell asleep at the wheel and his car drifted into the stream that ran along the road that he always drove home on. Now before you say anything about some sort of serial killer I want you to know that my uncle told me that you and your partner Walker were here undercover trying to find out who was responsible for the deaths of those guards. Ranger Trivette I think that you should know that these men really died from accidents, ironic as each and every one of them are in their own ways. You and Walker are just wasting your time looking for a killer who will never be found."

Trivette carefully replied while switching on a hidden recorder " Is that so Bobby? How do you figure that each of the deaths were ironic? I mean what's ironic about drowning on your way home from work? Or for that matter being hid head on, or being struck and killed by a car?" Bobby was only too happy to answer " Yes, it's ironic to be hit head on by another car while being so tired from working a double shift that you fell asleep at the wheel. Hey I'll bet that's what happened to Welsch too. I mean he worked a double shift last night too. Same thing with who was it? Oh yes Billups, I think that he drifted off to sleep on his way home too and ended up rear ending another car while speeding. He was thrown from the car and died of blunt force trauma. They do say what goes around comes around and speaking of going around Trivette, I have to get to my rounds." A speechless Trivette sat there going over what Bobby had just told him.

As Trivette was leaving the break room he got a phone call on his cell phone. It was Walker who told him " Welsch's car drifted into a stream." Trivette replied " I know but I can't talk about it here because Crawforde told his nephew Bobby who we were and why we were here. Also Walker Bobby was all but gloating about Welsch's death. Listen my shift ends in a couple of hours pick me up and we'll go from there." Walker agreed.

At the hotel room Walker said to his partner " How's the computer search coming? Were you able to link Bobby with any of those other guards?" Trivette answered " Wait a few more minutes until I go through the personal files will you?" Walker said " Hurry it up will you? Because Welsch only agreed to be dead for the next couple of days. His girlfriend is due back after that."

Trivette muttered " I'm hurrying up. It does take some time you know to uhm... get personal files by computer." After several more minutes Trivette whistled then said " It seems that Bobby only recently became a full time guard again and before that he worked only when no one else could after having his hours reduced for a rules infraction. He was written up by Paulsen for falling asleep during a graveyard shift and almost lost his job over it. At the time his uncle Crawforde covered for him saying that he was on a double shift. After being warned not to let it happen again Bobby was also busted down to two shifts a week until his fellow guards started dying off. Then his hours went up back up. But if he's behind it, how do we prove it? It would have taken a lot of planning for him to have killed those men by himself."

" Unless he had help. What about Crawforde? Was he working when the guards died?" Walker questioned Trivette who quickly got back on his computer to find the answer which he he did " Crawforde was either at work when the guards died or some place where he could be accounted for. Now what?"

" How about we get Bobby and his uncle together and see what happens?" Walker suggested to Trivette who replied " It can't hurt, who knows maybe just maybe Bobby's been dying to show everyone how smart he thinks he is and will nicely confess to us."

At the meeting Cradforde asked them " What's the meaning for this meeting? Aren't you worried about blowing your covers?" Trivette answered for them " I believe that you've already blown our covers Crawforde. I'd like to know why that is unless of course you've been helping Bobby here out." A puzzled Cradforde questioned " Helping Bobby out with what? And where on earth did you get the idea that I've blown your covers?"

Walker looked at Bobby who was sitting there all but gloating and said " Little Bobby here told Trivette that you told him that we were undercover to get to the bottom of the deaths of your guards but I'm willing to bet that you didn't tell him that, did you?" After Crawforde shook his head no Trivette added " I guess little Bobby here just made a lucky guess about who we were. After all he does seem to be lacking in the brains department. Can you believe that he told me that the deaths of your guards were ironic? I'll bet that someone used that word in front of him and it stuck in his mind. That he doesn't even know the meaning of it."

This made Bobby mad and he blurted out " I do too know what it means and it is ironic that every guard who took hours away from me ended dying from falling asleep. You know like I fell asleep at work. But at least I was smart enough to do it somewhere safe. Not on the way home from work like those idiots did. So tell me, who's the smart one? Me or them?"

Crawforde scoffed " Knock it off Bobby before you get yourself in trouble for bragging that you did something when you and I both know that you don't begin to have the brains to do." Bobby jumped up from his chair and yelled " I have more brains than you do dear sweet uncle Billy Joe, oh wait a minute. I'm not allowed to call you Billy Joe at work, now am I? Oh well too bad because once everything comes out the only person who will be in trouble is you because we set you...I'd better shut up now. By the way Rangers, you will never be able to pin any of this on me. That's how smart I really am. Have fun in prison uncle Billy Joe. Also Walker you should know that it was easy to make you once you started letting your beard grow back. That was so stupid of you. To think that just because you had different color eyes and hair that no one would recognize you when you regrew your beard."

Crawforde answered " That's enough you little punk. I should have known better than to let your mother talk me into getting you a job here. You've been nothing but trouble ever since you've started working here. As a matter of fact, you're fired. I don't ever want to see your face again." Bobby headed to the door but Trivette got him to stop by saying to his partner " See Walker I told you that Bobby here was just another Momma's boy. I'll bet she did all the planning. Not to mention all the work but is going to let him take all the credit. You know to make him feel more like a man instead of the whimp that he is. What is it with these Momma's boys that they don't learn how to be men and instead have their Mommy's do everything for them?"

Spinning back around Bobby whipped out a concealed gun and held it on the three of them while telling them " Sit down and shut up while I tell you just how smart I am." After they sat down Bobby bragged about how he had killed the guards with just a little help from his mother. After he was done doing that Bobby told them " Get up turn around and face the wall now. Crawforde obeyed but Walker and Trivette didn't. Bobby became angry and waved the gun in Walker's face. Walker looked at Trivette who said " We have enough partner." Before Bobby could react Walker disarmed him and Trivette then cuffed him to a chair where he was read his rights.

Several hours later Bobby's mother Tammy was served with a search warrant and they found evidence linking her to the deaths. As she was being led away in handcuffs Tammy stated that if her brother Billy Joe Crawforde had been a decent uncle to her son none of the guards who have been killed. That it was all his fault for letting them pick on her Bobby to begin with. After filling out the reports Walker and Trivette headed back to Dallas.

Chapter Five

Alex was in the living room going over some of her plans for making the ranch house look more like a married couple's home instead of a home for a single cowboy. Alex muttered to herself " I wonder how he'll really feel about my plans to..." Walker who had come into the living room just then asked " Who's he and what plans are you muttering about?"

Alex seeing that it was her husband tossed her plans aside quickly went to Walker threw her arms around his neck and said to him " You're home. Why didn't you call me? I would have picked you up from the airport. And when did you dye your hair back and start regrowing your beard?" Walker answered " After we wrapped the case up Trivette nagged me into dying my hair back while we waiting for the next flight home. I forgot to take the razors that you got me so I didn't shave. Now do I get a proper welcome home or not?"

" Whatever do you have in mind Mister Walker." Alex teased causing Walker to pull her close to him as he said " I think you can figure it out. Can't you?" Keeping up the teasing Alex said " So tell me cowboy is that a gun or are you happy to see me?" Walker wasted no more time with words instead he picked his wife up and all but ran up the steps to their bedroom. Once in the bedroom Walker quickly stripped Alex then just as quickly removed his clothing. As he was getting onto the bed Alex said " That's some gun that you're packing."

Walker got down to business and when he was done Alex started to get out of bed but he told her " I said all night and I meant it lady. How about you laying back down?" Alex laid back down. Walker quickly got down to business again causing Alex to tell him " Walker how about taking it a little slower this time?"

Walker lifted his head to look his wife in the eyes as he told her " Next time lady of mine." Later on Walker's stomach started growling so Alex said " I'd better make us something to eat. Any requests?" Walker answered " Just you lady." Alex moaned " At least let me get us a snack to eat before you have your way with me again. I'll need the energy."

" I'll let you make us a snack but just so you know I have more than enough energy for the both of us. So hurry back." Walker replied and Alex left the bedroom to get them something to eat. When she came back into the room with a tray of food Alex saw that her husband's eyes were closed so she muttered " Good he's sleeping." Walker opened his eyes and after looking at the tray of food questioned " Alex do we really need to eat right now? Can't we just go straight to dessert?"

" No we can't go straight to dessert because I need to get something in my stomach and I need to...never mind." Alex replied as she sat on her side of the bed and began to eat some of the food. Walker reached over took the tray of food and placed it on the floor then said to her " I missed you Alex."

" I missed you too honey but would you mind putting the tray of food back where it was? I'm hungry." Alex asked her husband who responded " I'm hungry too but it's not for food it's for you." Walker then pulled Alex into his arms again.

The next morning Alex looked over at her sleeping husband who had a smile on his face and was looking more peaceful that she could ever remember him looking in his sleep. Alex quietly got out of bed and went into the bathroom where she ran herself a hot bath. Walker entered the bathroom as Alex was slipping into the tub. As she relaxed in the hot bath water Alex said to herself " Maybe this hot water will take away the soreness."

Walker who heard that became concerned and asked his wife " Alex where are you sore at? And if were sore from something why didn't you tell me that you weren't up to us being together last night? You know that I don't want you to feel as though you have to be with me when you don't feel up to it. Don't you?"

" Walker after last night how can you not know where I'm sore at? Are you that clueless about certain things?" Alex questioned him back. Kneeling on the floor besides the tub Walker answered " Alex how can I know where you're sore at when I've been out of town the last two weeks? Now tell me where it hurts and I'll massage it for you."

Alex realized then that Walker really had no idea what her problem was so she hinted " Cordell I wasn't sore until after you came home last night. Understand what I'm trying to tell you?" Walker shook his head no so Alex added " Last night you were more forceful than I ever remember you being. If you know what I mean?"

" Forceful? Where?" A puzzled Walker asked Alex who blunty replied " In bed. I asked you to take it slower but you said next time. Remember?" Walker who finally got the idea stood up and said " Oh god Alex I'm sorry. You'll never know how sorry I am for hurting you like that." Before Alex could say anything else he left the bathroom. After her bath Alex got dressed for the day then went looking for her husband but he was nowhere to be found so she went to work.

Walker was sitting at his desk when Trivette came into Ranger headquarters. Seeing his partner sitting there Trivette asked " Walker what are you doing here? I thought that you were going to take the day off and spend it with your wife?" Walker snapped " Things change." Realizing that his partner was in a grouchy mood Trivette went over to his desk. Awhile later Sydney came into headquarters and she too questioned Walker about being at work. Walker then questioned the room " Doesn't anyone around here have cases that they should be working on?" The other Rangers quickly turned their attention to their own desks. A short time later Gage came into the room and said " Hey Walker is there something wrong with Alex? She seemed upset about something but denied that there was anything wrong with her."

Trivette who happened to glance over at Walker then saw a look of pain flash across Walker's face so he quickly changed the subject " Gage aren't you and Sydney supposed to be busting that gang that's been running drugs out of a storefront?" Sydney answered for them " Yes we are. Let's go Gage."

After they left Trivette went over to Walker's desk and said " I'm not prying Walker but is everything okay? You seem upset about something." Walker just shook his head no as Del neared his desk. Trivette went back to his desk as Del started trying to hit on Walker. " Cordell how about you and I get to know each other a little better? What do you say? I've been dying to have a man like you."

Alex who had come into Ranger headquarters in time to hear Del hitting on her husband went over to his desk and said to Mannon in a low voice " Miss Mannon I suggest that you behave in a professional manner from now on. That is if you wish to keep your job here. Do we understand each other?" Mannon repiled in a loud tone " Professional behavior? Is that what you call what you were doing a couple of weeks ago behind your husband's back?"

Alex then said even in a even lower voice " Okay then understand this. You aren't woman enough to handle a man like Cordell Walker. I'm the only one who can. Is that clear enough for you?" Mannon looked at Walker who stood up and went to his wife. Alex then said as she kissed him on the cheek " How about we head home Cowboy? There's something that we need to do when we get there."

Walker started blushing as Trivette muttered " Newlyweds. Go ahead you two never mind the fact that he gets the girl and I get the paperwork, again." Alex and Walker left Ranger headquarters. Trivette went to Mannon and told her " Miss Mannon if you keep trying to cause trouble for them the only person who's going to regret it is you because neither Walker or Alex will ever let anyone or anything come between them." Mannon answered " Whatever."

Chapter Six

When they arrived at the ranch Walker told Alex " I'm going for a ride alone. I'll see you later." Alex replied as she placed her hand on his arm to stop him from walking away from her " Wait a minute Walker we need to talk about last night first."

Walker removed her arm as he said " Alex the only thing that I have to say about last night is that I will never do anything like that to you again." As her husband walked away from her Alex sighed to herself about his stubborness but decided not to follow him to the barn and let Walker have some time to himself in order to think things through. Although she had hoped now that they were married that he would at least think about talking with her before taking off on his own. After watching him ride away from her on his horse Alex entered the house and made them dinner. When her husband still hadn't returned when it was done Alex made him up a plate of food and stuck it in the fridge for him.

Several hours later Walker came into the house to find his wife wiping a few tears away from her face so he questioned her " Alex should I call a doctor for you? Are you going to be all right?" Alex responded " I'm fine. I made dinner but since you took such a long ride it got cold so I put a plate of food in the fridge for you."

" No you are not okay. You were just crying because you're still sore because of what I did to you last night. What's your doctor's number? I'm calling it right now and making an appointment for you." Walker said to Alex who answered " Walker I am not still sore from last night. I was just crying because of the way that you just walked away from me before. Walker I know that you're set in your ways but I was hoping that you would at least think about talking with me about what's bothering before you took off on your own. I'm your wife now. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

" Alex I needed to go riding by myself because if I had let you come along with me I would have...well...you know. We are not going ...to have... well do that again. I don't want to hurt you again." Walker stammered through his answer. Alex understanding what he meant burst out laughing. This bothered her husband who said " Alex what's so funny? I tell you that we're not going to... again and you laugh at me."

Alex replied " I'm sorry darling but I didn't mean to laugh but when you said that we weren't going to have sex again I couldn't help myself. Cordell you and I both know that's impossible if we're living in the same house." Walker moved over to the fireplace before saying " I'm moving into the cabin."

Alex objected " Wait a minute. Is this your way of telling me that you want out of our marriage? I thought you love me like I love you? Was I wrong about that?" Walker answered " I love you Alex and no I don't want out of our marriage but I will not hurt you again like I did last night."

Alex got up and walked over to her husband to tell him " Cordell Walker did I ever say anything about you hurting me last night? I never said that you did because you didn't. What I said this morning was that I was a little sore but my hot bath took care of it. Now I don't know about you cowboy but my wedding vow was to love you for the rest of my life. Not to cut and run the first time something came up. So tell me Cordell John Walker are you really going to stop having sex with me over something so minor? Or are we going to keep on making love with me? Because I have to tell you that I want to have children some day and the only way that's going to happen is if we keep on sharing the same bed."

" I want us to have children too but I can't be the cause of your pain. I'm sorry Alex. More than you'll ever know." Walker answered his wife as he tried to walk around her to leave the house but Alex stunned him by grabbing him by his belt buckle. Walker looked at his wife's hand on his belt buckle but she didn't remove it. After a minute when he didn't say anything Alex said " If I have to I'll hold on to you like this all night. As a matter of fact I'll do whatever I have to to make you come to your senses and agree to make love with me again."

" Alex for God's sake you know what you touching me there does to me." Walker exclaimed as Alex slid her hand below his belt. Alex kept her hand there which caused her husband to moan. Alex then unzipped his pants as she said " I want you Walker and I know that you want me too. So are you going to stand there and deny us both the pleasures that our bodies want at this moment?"

Walker lowered them to the floor where they removed each other's clothing. As they were making love Alex told him " Walker either make love to me like you mean it or go take a cold shower. Because I want a man who wants to be with me. Not one who's worried about hurting me." Walker raised his eyes to look Alex in her eyes so she said to him " Honey I can take it. I swear. And no I won't be sore in the morning." Walker nodded okay and picked up the pace. Alex then moaned " Yes Cordell that's what I meant." After they were done Walker questioned " Are you all right? I didn't hurt you. Did I?"

Alex teased " No you didn't hurt me but I wouldn't mind you kissing me where I was a little sore. If you know what I mean. I'll return the favor. You have my word." Walker answered with his actions as did his wife. When they were done Alex told him " Cordell when we make love it makes me feel as though I'm the luckiest woman on the face of the earth. To have a man like you who cares about my needs and isn't just worried about himself. I love you so much."

" I love you too Alex. Come on let's call it a night." Walker replied as he picked his wife up to carry her to their bedroom.


End file.
